Middle-order batsman Karun Nair’s Test career may have come to an end after the 33-year-old was dropped from India’s Test setup as the BCCI announced India’s 15-man squad for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies.
Starting October 2 in Ahmedabad, India will host the West Indies, led by Roston Chase, for a two-match Test series, with the second fixture slated for Delhi from October 10. This is the first home Test series for Shubman Gill as India’s Test skipper.
The BCCI has trimmed down the expanded squad that travelled to England earlier. From that, the exclusions are Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Akash Deep, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, and Anshul Kamboj. Pant is ruled out of this series due to the fractured toe he sustained in the Manchester Test. Ravindra Jadeja is the vice-captain for the IND vs WI Test series.
The two players who are added to the squad, or rather make their returns, are Axar Patel and Devdutt Padikkal. Padikkal, who played a Test match last year in Dharamsala against England and hit a fifty on his Test debut and then featured in the Perth Test, missed out on the England tour due to an injury he suffered during the IPL.
IND vs WI: Why Karun Nair Is Dropped From West Indies Test Series Squad?
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar explicitly mentioned that Nair failed to live up to the selectors’ expectations on the tour of England, managing 205 runs in four Tests, with a best score of 57, in what was a high-scoring series. Agarkar said that Padikkal, who replaces Nair in the squad, can currently offer “a little bit more” than Nair.
Agarkar said on Nair’s exclusion, “We expected more from Karun. Padikkal offers a little bit more at this point. Wish we could give everyone 15-20 Tests, unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.
“Padikkal was in the Test squad in Australia, played against England in Dharamsala, got a fifty there. He’s shown some decent form. Frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun.”
Nair has been out of action since the England tour due to an injury, while Padikkal returned from his injury and made his opportunities count: in the Duleep Trophy semi-final, he hit a fifty, and against Australia A, he slammed a knock of 150 runs, top-scoring in the match.
With Padikkal being only 25 years old, compared to the 33-year-old Nair, the scales tipped towards the youngster. For Nair, this is likely the end of his journey with the Indian Test team, his comeback after eight years lasting only one Test series.
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